FAQs About PEMDASH

Why does the order of the numbers matter in PEMDASH?! That’s not necessary in math!!

If you’re new to PEMDASH, you may be a little frustrated that the order matters. Yes, math is commutative which means that A+B=B+A or A*B=B*A.

The original version of PEMDASH didn’t care about the order, and all you had to do was solve the equation and you would win. The game was adjusted to multiple levels of difficulty and had equations with a varying number of possible solutions. You could solve it any way that you wanted, and then you won.

That was tested and modified for months, and it just wasn’t fun. Players were left with more to be desired. Once PEMDASH turned into a puzzle to solve the equation and then focus on solving it in the right order, the quality significantly improved.

There are always at least 20 different valid equations to get the number of the day. If you notice, the first equation you enter is usually the easiest task because you’re only thinking mathematically and have no restrictions. The second equation puts your brain in a deeper problem solving state because now your numbers are restricted and you are also solving the puzzle.

Why does the game tell me how many seconds it took to solve instead of just the number of guesses?

PEMDASH has had many iterations and has evolved over time. The format is a bit different than other similar games, and time became the most interesting metric. Most days, you’ll find yourself solving PEMDASH in 2-4 guesses, but it’s the time that really tells the story.

When you share your PEMDASH stats with friends, it’s very likely that you solved the equation/puzzle in a similar number of guesses. If all you know is that you each solved it in 2 guesses, there’s not much to talk about. When you see that you solved it in 86 seconds and your friend got it in 22 seconds, there’s a much different story to be told.

What does PEMDASH mean?

PEMDASH is a play on words with the order of operations which is frequently referred to as PEMDAS. There are two different meanings of the word “dash” that I combined with it. Dash can mean a little bit of something, so you’re getting a little bit of PEMDAS by playing PEMDASH every day. Dash can also mean to race somewhere in a hurry, so you’re racing to solve the equation in PEMDASH. To me it’s a memorable and meaningful name to the game I created.

Why was PEMDASH created?

I created PEMDASH because lots of people enjoy daily word games like Wordle or a crossword puzzle, but I wanted to have a math alternative. I’ve seen a few other math games out there, but I had a slightly different vision of one that was quick to play every day and also made sure people understood the order of operations. It drives me crazy when I see people debating math puzzles on social media (mostly on Facebook) because people don’t understand the order of operations!

How can I give you some feedback or a suggestion?

Click the button below to send feedback! I would love to keep adding features and improving the game to keep people doing math! That’s why I also have the versions for kids and the unlimited mode!